CalCOFI Program

For over 50 years, the CalCOFI study has annually visited 75 stations in Southern California waters. At each station, a number of physical and chemical measurements are made to characterize the environment and map the distribution and abundance of phytoplankton, zooplankton, fish eggs, larvae, marine mammals and birds (including temperature, salinity, oxygen and phosphate observations; nutrient analysis includes silicate, nitrate and nitrite; chlorophyll, C14 primary productivity, census populations of organisms from phytoplankton to avifauna, weather and sea conditions).